Central Saanich

Buying Real Estate in the Central Saanich Neighborhood?

Discover some of the history of this area. Many streets and places were named after early pioneers into the area. Mrs. Butler was the first school teacher in Saanich. Later, when a school was erected on the Turgoose property, the Butlers moved to West Saanich. where another school had been erected by the joint community effort of the settlers, on a piece of land given by George Thomas. They also built the Butlers a dwelling house. Later Stephen Butler bought 160 acres of land along what is now the Keating Cross Road. He died in 1885, leaving Mrs. Butler with a family of nine children. Captain Butler took a keen interest in the social and civic life of the community; he was the first secretary of the North and South Saanich Agricultural Society (Saanich Fair).

Mrs. Butler, as well as her teaching duties and the raising of her large family, found time to teach pupils the piano and was the presiding genius at most of the social functions. Her piano, which had been sent to her as a wedding gift from her father in England, was the only one in the district and was carted around from place to place wherever a social event was being staged. She lived a long and useful life, dying in 1920 at the age of eighty. The Butler children were Rosalie Maud (Mrs. Scharschmidt); Wilfrid Stephen married Miss Virginia Rey, Claude Henry married Miss Pearl Thomson, Hugh Arthur married Miss Alena Martindale, May Hester became Mrs. Captain Ludlow. Geoffrey Thomas married Miss Neida Deadman, Gladys Arabella Catherine married Mr. Vincent Gabb and Doris Agnes Victoria married Mr. Clark. Frederick Charles died in his twenties. Could Captain and Mrs. Butler drop down on their old homestead today they would find that on a part of it some of their grandsons have built up a big business in builders' supplies and would be surprised to see the name they gave them emblazoned on huge concrete mixers, on big trucks and in neon signs from their business plant.

RUFUS and CHARLES HORTH came from Yarmouth, England, in the early sixties via New York. In 1871 they purchased 300 acres from a man named Luxon, the owner of the land which runs along the West half of Mills Road and south to Patricia Bay, North Saanich. Some disagreement arose between the brothers, so they dissolved partnership and sold the land to Mr. Mills. From him came the naming of Mills Road. This farm later became part of the property of Mr. Matson, owner for many years of the Daily Colonist. The Horth brothers sought their livelihood in different parts of the colony or province but Rufus again returned to Saanich. He first rented some land at Tod Inlet and later purchased the Gooch property on Wain's Road.

Rufus Horth married Miss Alice Wain. They raised a family of ten children. Annie (Mrs. Carter), William, Rufus, Miss Helen, Alice Maude (Mrs. Norris), Lena Spence (Mrs. Calvert) , Leonard John, Charles Douglas, Nellie (Mrs. Roberts), and Henry George. Charlie Horth went mining and in company with Leech, or in partnership with him, became famous in the formation of Leechtown. He spent his last years in the State of Washington. After being scattered for quite a few years many of them returned to Saanich to finish their span of life. GEORGE LUXON, who sold his farm to the Horth brothers, returned to England in 1873. He did not reach there, however, as according to the Colonist, October 11, 1873, he died at sea with a large sum of money on him. The bulk of this could have been the $11,000.00 paid to him by the Horths for the purchase of his farm which, by the way, was named at that time the "Arlington Farm."

HENRY FRY appears to have leased the Arlington Farm for some time. He also built a hotel and some cabins near the waterfront at Union Bay, or Patricia Bay as it is now known. At that time, of course, there was no road over the Malahat, therefore people from up-island parts came across from Mill Bay in boats or canoes. According to the Colonist of November 1, 1864, he sold his interests to a Captain T. Wright, Jr., for $5,850.00. The 24 vendor is not stated. Whether George Luxon owned the land at that time is not clear. The interesting point is that it was a sort of forerunner to modern auto courts.

Also in the sale a quarter mile of water frontage was included. Possibly this meant you had to be a guest of the hotel to tie up there. HENRY WAIN, whose name is perpetuated by a road in North Saanich, "Wain's Cross Road," came from Kent, England, in 1850 to work for the H.B.C. as a carpenter. He went back and forth to England three times or, as he used to boast, he rounded Cape Horn seven times. On his last trip he married a girl from his native county, Sarah Davis. He was a highly skilled carpenter and did much of the finishing work on early buildings. He made the windows for the old Craigflower school for, contrary to some assertions, they were not shipped from England. He also helped to build a flour mill for the H.B.C. The mill was never operated, but it is from this mill that the name Craigflower originated. The mill was built on a craig and the flour that was to be gristed would have been called Craig flour.

On the pretext that he was going into the market gardening business. he was released from his indentures to the H.B.C., but instead he set up a private carpentering business. This led him to get a contract from a Victoria butcher by the name of Harris, to build a barn on a farm in North Saanich, which Harris had bought or rented to pasture and fatten the cattle for his shop. This Mr. Harris was once a mayor of Victoria and the farm was later bought by McTavish, of a well known old Victoria family. Henry Wain liked the district and decided to purchase 160 acres, located by the West corner of the road later built and named after him. He became intensely interested in farming and coming from Kent, it was natural for him to be one of the pioneer hop growers. He proposed and helped to build a hall in the vicinity. The hall was used for community meetings, but its chief use was as a school. Henry Wain operated a tavern for a time and the first North Saanich Post Office. He also ran a stage.

The Wains raised a family of eight children. Emily (Mrs. Reid), Alice (Mrs. Rufus Horth), Anne (Mrs. Charles 25 Horth), Agnes (Mrs. Newbigging), and Helen (Mrs. Ed. Simpson), Harry Alex, William Thomas. Many of the descendants of this family tree are still in the district. WILLIAM REID was a young immigrant from Scotland. He, too, went gold mining and met with success. He returned to Victoria and purchased land, 300 acres of it in North Saanich, sometime about the late sixties, on the south side of Wain's Cross Road, where the Aylard farm now is. He then sent for his brother Duncan and gave him 100 acres of his farm. Duncan remained a bachelor, but William married Emily Wain. He did not have to go far to do his courting, for the Wains were near neighbors.

William Reid met with a sudden and tragic end. He was thrown from a horse and broke his neck. He left his wife with two young children. Belle (Mrs. Dodd), William and then Harry, born after his death. This son developed a craze for poultry and though he learned the tailoring trade and engaged in this business, he never gave up his love for poultry and finally became a Government Poultry Inspector. WILLIAM JACKSON was a coloured man. He owned a farm along Martindale Road. His chief livelihood was selling wood in Victoria. He sold his farm to a Frenchman by the name of John Joseph Rey. A daughter of J. J. Rey married Wilfrid Butler, son of the pioneer Butlers. WILLIAM H. WILLIAMS farmed what is now the Bradley Dyne Farm. He rented it from Dr. Helmcken. Later Dr. Helmcken sold it to Mr. Bradley Dyne. Little information can be got as to what happened to the Williams family after they left North Saanich. EDMUND SADLER was an early settler in North Saanich.

His farm was south of the present day Experimental Farm and included Mt. Baker Park. He was a bachelor until later life, when he married Mrs. Turgoose. There were no descendents. PETER LIND first operated a hotel in South Saanich. In the British Colonist of May 19th, 1864, he advertises that the South Saanich hotel was opened and that boats are always ready to take passengers to Saltspring, Cowichan, Chemainus, etc. On October 6th, 1865, he advertises that he had disposed of the South Saanich Hotel and moved to more commodious premises situated at the foot of Mt. Newton. The Saanich Hotel later became the residence of Mr. Hagan. The "more commodious" premises were named "Peterborough Hall." Even before he opened the more ambitious Saanich Hotel, Peter Lind in 1862 was operating a "Stage House" where he sold groceries, liquors, etc. He sold out his Peterborough Hall Hotel and business to Eckstein.

PETER ECKSTEIN. As well as managing the hotel and boat ferry business, Eckstein was also postmaster of Saanich in 1870. On November, 18th, 1874, he had an auction sale of his liquor, groceries, furniture, etc., and a few days later it was announced that the place had been sold to John Henderson, who renamed it the Mt. Newton Hotel. As a passing interest an advertisement in the Colonist of June 2nd, 1872, reads: "Gentleman boarders can be accommodated at $10. 00 a week." They were also prepared to receive families. JOHN HOLDEN came from England in 1856. Mrs. Holden came out in 1858. He bought 1,200 acres on the East side of Mt. Newton and it went to the shore line on the East of the peninsula. They had four children-Foster, Genevieve Elizabeth (Mrs. George Sangster), John, Alice Maude (Mrs. Fairclough). A daughter of Mrs. Fairclough married Josiah Bull. also the son of a pioneer. He was for many years Police Chief of the Saanich Municipality.

The boys remained bachelors. SAMUEL ROBERTS was a Welshman. He came to Victoria in 1862 and immediately went to the gold mines. He purchased part of a claim near Barkerville. His partners were Brackman and Mills. He spent the next ten summers working on this claim and then returned to Victoria and went out to North Saanich and bought 300 acres of land from R. Johns. It went from where the line of Brethour property was along the East Road and from there to the water front. Roberts Bay derives its name from him. Later he sold 80 acres of this to one of his old mining partners, H. Brackman. Samuel Roberts married Agnes Gough, who was born at Nanaimo in 1856, one of the first white children to be born there. Her father, a Staffordshire man, was keeper of the Nanaimo Bastion.